Keeper



Oct. 2, 1956 E. e. FORSSELL 2,765,189

KEEPER Filed NOV. 28, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet l E7 Gil 67155.921

I 2W? 3% 2 IWWM" Oct. 2, 1956 .E. e. FORSSELL KEEPER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 28, 1952 Oct. 2, 1956 E. G. FORSSELL KEEPER 5 sneeis-sheet :5

Filed NOV. 28, 1952 linited States Patent 6 KEEPER Eric G. Forssell, Kenmore, N. Y., assignor to W. H. Miner, Inc., Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Application November 28, 1952, Serial No. 322,881

2 Claims. (Cl. 292340)' This invention relates to improvements in keepers, "and more particularly to doors comprising articulated door members.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved door fastener means in connection with a plurality of door members, including a pair of articulated swingingly supported door members, and an additional single swinging door member for closing relatively large door openings, wherein the single door member may be alone operated to provide a relatively narrow opening, and this single door member, together with one of the articulated pair may be operated independently of the other member of said pair to provide a relatively wide opening, and all three of the door members may be operated to provide an opening corresponding to the entire width of said door openin Another object of the invention is to provide a door structure for closing a relatively large door opening of a container, comprising a door member hinged to the container at one side of the door opening, and a pair of articulated, hingedly connected, inner and outer door members having the inner door member hinged to the opposite side of said opening, wherein the top and bottom hinge members of the hingedly connected, articulated door members have the leaves thereof which are connected to the outer door member provided with projecting cam means engageable with fixed keepers on the .container for forcing the inner door member of said articulated members, to which it is hinged, open and closed and locking it in closed position by swinging movement of the other or outer door member of said articulated pair.

A further object of the invention is to provide a door construction, as set forth in the preceding paragraph, wherein the cooperating keepers and keeper engaging members are designed to permit swinging movement of the outer door member of the articulated pair, to open position, and to effect locking of the inner door member in closed position when said outer door member is completely opened.

Other objects of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

:In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is an elevational view, partly broken away, of the side wall of a refrigerator car, provided with a door opening closed by hinged door members, illustrating my improvements in connection therewith.

'Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic View, in dotted lines, showing the single door member and the outer door member of the articulated pair in open positions.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view, in dotted lines, showing all of the door members opened.

Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the bottom keeper associated with the pair of articulated door members.

2,765,189 Patented Oct. 2, 1956 Figure 6 is a side elevational view, looking from right I to left in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a top plan view of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a top plan view of the top keeper associated with the pair of articulated doors.

Figure 9 is an enlarged elevational view, broken away,

of the door structure shown in Figure 1 in the region of outer right hand door member swung completely open.

'Figure 13 is a view similar to Figure 10, showing the outer or right hand door member in disengaged position with respect to the keeper, ready to be moved outwardly to pull open the inner or left hand door member, which is shown in dotted lines.

In said drawings, 10 designates the side wall of a railway refrigerator car, provided with a door opening 11 and closed by a hinged door structure, comprising a single door member 12 and inner and outer articulated door members 13 and '14, the door member 12 being swingin-gly supported at its right hand end on the wall of the car by the usual hinge members 15- 15 and having a rotary door fastener bar 16 at its left hand end, cooperating with the usual keepers, and the door member 13 of the articulated door members 13 and '14 being swing ingly supported at its left hand end by hinge members 1- 8.

The door fastener bar 16 is of the usual well-known design, having keeper engaging crank members '19'19 at its top and bottom ends engageable with top and bottom keepers 2t) and 21. The bar 16 is supported for rotation by bearing brackets 2222, secured to the door member '12, and is actuated by the usual handle lever 23, which is swingingly connected to the bar 16.

The bottom keeper 21 has an extension 24, which is provided with the usual pivoted latch plate 25, engageable over the lower right hand corner of the adjacentdoor member 14 to lock the latter in closed position.

My improvements comprise broadly hinge members A-'A, swingingly connecting the articulated door mem-- bers 13 and 14, a keeper engaging member B formed on.

one of the hinge leaves of each member A, and a keeper C with which the member B of each hinge member A isv engageable.

The hinge members AA are located respectively at leaves 26 and 27 fixed respectively to the door members.

13 and 14. Each hinge leaf 27 has four outwardly projecting, vertically spaced hinge eye portions 282'8-'- 28-28, and each hinge leaf 26 has three outwardly projecting, vertically spaced hinge eye members 2929-29 alternated with the eyes 2'8282828 and connected to the latter by a hinge pin 30, extending through said eyes. As shown, a third hinge member 17, of well-known design, maybe employed on the doors 13 and '14 between the top and bottom hinge members AA.

The keeper engaging members 13-13, which cooperate with the top and bottom keepers CC, are formed respectively on the hinge leaves 2727 of the top and bottom hinge members AA, the keeper engaging member B upstanding from the leaf 27 of the top hinge member A, and the keeper engaging member B depending from the leaf 27 of the lower hinge member A. As will be seen upon reference to Figures 1 and 9, the lower keeper enthe arm 31 of :the same,'and the crank pin o f the bottom keeper engaging member B depending from the army 31 thereof.-

The top and bottom keepers -0 are of similar design, but revers'ely arranged, that is, the top keeper faces downwardly and the bottom keeper faces? upwardly. The

keepers C-G-are in the forms ofcastingsfixed tothecar wall 10, respectively aboye and below, the door opening 11. Each keeper Chas a pocket 33=within which the corresponding keeper engagingmernber is ,engageable, the

pocket of the top keeper opening downwardly and that of the bottom keeper opening upwardly. The pocket 33 ofeach keeper is defined by a concavely curved back wall 34, merging with curved side walls 35 and 36, and offset front walls 37' and 38, the walls 37 and 38 being formed by intiuned flanges which project toward each other and have their opposed inner ends spaced apart to provide an opening 39' through which the crank pin 32 of the corresponding keeper engaging member B is adapted to pass in'lateraldirection. As shown most clearly in Figures 1 and 9; the pocket 33 of the bottom keeper is closed by a horizontal bottom wall 40 and, as shown in Figure 1, the pocket of the. top keeper is closed by a horizontal top wall, also indicated by. 49, As shown most clearly in Figures 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 13, the wall 38.is slightly ofiset inwardly with respect to the wall 37. Inthe closed p osition of the door members 12, 13, and 14, as shown in Figures land l0, thedoor member 12 islocked by the locking bar 16, the. outer door member 14by the latch plate 25, which is engaged over its lower outer corner, and the doormember 13 by the keeper engaging members the crank members of which are engaged with the front walls 3737 of the top and bottom keepers C-C.

In the event that a small door opening is desired, the door member 12 only is opened, the usual procedure being followed of forcing this door member open by operation of'the locking bar '16, and then manually swinging this doormember to fully open position. When a. medium size opening is desirable, the .door memb er 14 is also swung to open position, the same being first unlatched by moving the latch plate 25 downwardly to a position, to clear the.

lower edge of the door member 14. In swinging the door member 14 open, the keeper engaging member Bmoves,

from the position shown in Figure 10, through the position shown in Figure 11, to that shown in Figure 12,- thus engaging the crank pin 32in back of the inwardly offset wall 38 to hold the door member 14 in its open position, andat the sarne time lock the door member 13 inclosed position, as shown inFigurelZ, As the. keeper engaging crankpin 32 moves from the positionshownin Figure tothat shown in Figure 11, it passes. over the curved wall 34 of the keeper, thus carnmingv the door member 13 partly open, as shown .in Figure 11. Then as it moves engaging men-iber B from the keeper Q, the crank pin 32 passing out or" the pocket 33, through the o pening 39; With the keeper engaging member thus freed from the keeper C, the doormember 13 is swungopenbybeing first pulled outwardly with the door member 14. The door member 13 is then pulled fully open by the door member 14 and these two members are swung inwardly flat against the wall 10, as shown in Figure 4.

To close the door members 13 and 14, the sameare swung outwardly away from the car wall funtilthey approach the approximate positions shown in Figure 13 The crank pin 32 of the keeper engaging member B is then passed; into the pocket 33 of the keeper C, through the opening 39, by forcing the door member 14to ward the car wall, as shown in Figure 13. The door member 14 is pushed inwardly until the crank pin 32'engages the back wall 34 of the pocket 33, as shown in Figure 11. After the parts reach this last named position, the door member 14 is swung inwardly on the door member 13, thereby engaging the crank pin 32 with the wall 37 of'the keeper 0 and camming the door member 13 tightly'closed and holding it in that position. After the door member 14-has thus been swung to its fully closed position, the latch plate 25 is engaged over its lower right hand corner to lock said door in closedpo sition, as shown in Figure '1.

Iclaiinf l. Aikeeper for use in connection with a keeper engaging member fixed to one of a pair of relatively rotatable doors eccentrically of the axis of relative rotation of the doors, comprising: a casting containing an arcuate baek wall and end walls curving outwardly from the endslof the back wall; spaced apart front walls extending towards each other from the outer ends of said end walls, said: walls together defining a pocket into which the keeperen-y gaging memberpasses through the space betweensaid; front walls, said member engaging said walls to lock the doors in either oneof two positions.

2 A keeper as specified in claim 1 in which the surfaces, of the back, end, and frontwalls that define the pocket blend into each other forming a smooth path overwh eh the keeper engaging member travels.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Mar. 4, 1933 

